Largest church expenditures
Share of church budget by category, Faith Communities Today, 2025 (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: Staff salaries and benefits (43%). Lowest: Other miscellaneous expenses (6%).
- Staff salaries and benefits: 43%
- Buildings and operations: 26%
- Mission and benevolence work: 13%
Source: Lifeway Research, Church Income Rising, But Still Trails Inflation · Article published 2025-03-25.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: Staff salaries and benefits (43%). Lowest: Other miscellaneous expenses (6%). Staff salaries and benefits: 43%. Buildings and operations: 26%. Mission and benevolence work: 13%.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2025. Source: Lifeway Research, Church Income Rising, But Still Trails Inflation (https://research.lifeway.com/2025/03/25/church-income-rising-but-still-trails-inflation/).
Where can I get the full data and a citation?
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About this data
Leader Insights collects statistics about U.S. churches from published research by organizations such as Lifeway Research, Barna Group, Springtide, the American Bible Society and PRRI. Every number is checked against the wording of the original source before it is published, and each statistic links back to the study it came from. Figures are reproduced from the publishers named above; see the source for full methodology.